Decanethiol as a Corrosion Inhibitor for Carbon Steels Exposed to Aqueous CO2

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion mitigation is a challenge in the oil and gas industry. In order to decrease the severity of CO2 corrosion of carbon steel pipelines and equipment, different mitigation practices are recommended. One such strategy is the application of surface-active chemical inhibitors. The aim of this research was to evaluate the inhibition effectiveness of decanethiol in a CO2-saturated aqueous electrolyte (1 wt% NaCl). The inhibition properties of decanethiol were evaluated by electrochemical measurements (linear polarization resistance, potentiodynamic sweeps, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and the steel surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The obtained data show that decanethiol can successfully prevent corrosion of carbon steels in a CO2 environment. An inhibition mechanism was also proposed based on adsorption characteristics and inhibitor film formation.